WA fears backlash over higher visa charges

West Australian Training Minister
Peter Collier
said he was disappointed with the lack of consultation about the increase in skilled visa fees announced by the federal government, which he said would damage Australia’s competitiveness.

“This could have massive ramifications for Western Australia, and potentially make Australia less attractive to overseas workers," he said

The WA government says training of local workers is its priority, but it will not be enough to fill official forecasts of a labour shortage of about 150,000 workers by 2017.

Mr Collier said the state was in the process of negotiating a memorandum of understanding with the Irish government to import skilled workers from Ireland, where the economy is struggling.

He said the chief executives of big resource companies were telling him they could not find enough skilled local labour.

Unions held a rally in Perth on Tuesday protesting against what they claim is the exploitation by big resource firms of foreign labour at the expense of local jobs.